Analects 4.1
The Analects (論語), BOOK IV. LE JIN 里仁第四
子曰、里仁爲美、擇不處仁、焉得知。
The Master said, "It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a neighborhood. If a man in selecting a residence, do not fix on one where such prevail, how can he be wise?"
James Legge (1861), Confucian Analects, The Chinese Classics vol. 1 (1861; 2nd ed. 1893) — public domain.
Character glossary
- 子zison, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thin
- 曰yuēto speak; to say
- 里lǐunit of distance equal to 0.5km; village
- 仁rénbenevolent, humane, kind
- 爲wèido, handle, govern, act; be
- 美měibeautiful, pretty; pleasing
- 擇zéto select, to choose
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 處chùto reside at, to live in; place, locale;
- 焉yānwhy? where? how?; strange; thereupon, th
- 得déto obtain, to get, to acquire; suitable,
- 知zhīto know, to perceive, to comprehend
Passages with shared wording
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.